


Restore My Normality

by LadyKnightOfHollyrose



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Changing Tenses, Dorks in Love, Dorms, Fluff, M/M, free rare pair week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3488252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightOfHollyrose/pseuds/LadyKnightOfHollyrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rei is a hot mess with a massive crush on his RA</p>
            </blockquote>





	Restore My Normality

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt 'Mornings' for Rare Pair Week on tumblr
> 
> The age gap between Makoto and Rei is a year wider just so that it makes more sense for a) Rei to be a first year (fresher) and b) for Makoto to be an RA

Rei struggles not to look up from his notebook when a familiar chuckle catches his ear; instead he pushes his glasses back up his nose in determination. He then finishes the problem he was working on, stopping only to take a long sip from his mug of tea.

But even as he manages to keep his eyes on the page in front of him, he's still subconsciously listening out for a particular voice.

A voice belonging to a certain resident advisor who he may or may not have developed a small interest in.

 

It wasn't even something that had started straight away; the first night that he'd moved into his dorm room Rei been nervous as hell. He’d re-checked his belongings twice after he'd unpacked to make sure he hadn't left anything important behind, still slightly overwhelmed by the fact that he'd  _finally made it_  to university.

The freshers had all been herded into the ground floor communal lounge that evening and honestly Rei could barely remember it. They'd been introduced to their RA, who had arranged an ice breaker for them. He’d then talked them through fire drills, when the night bus ran and where to get the best coffee on and off campus.

Rei had absorbed the knowledge being imparted by osmosis mostly, but he hadn't paid strict attention; he'd been far too busy feeling nervous about getting along with the people he'd be sharing a dorm with for the rest of the year, of making friends with people he'd only just met.

(It turns out that he needn't have worried on that front at least)

Afterwards, the freshers had a few minutes to chatter between themselves before the door was banging open again and they were being spirited away to the student union for their first official night out.

It had been an eventful night... to say the least.

Anyway, the only thing he'd really taken from the brief meeting was that their RA was kind enough to let them know he'd have painkillers on hand for any hangovers in the morning and to remind them to drink plenty of water. But he hadn't stopped any of them from going, though he obviously had an idea of what was to come from the wry smile he'd had as the students were lead out of the room.

(Rei had indeed awoken the next morning with a hangover that had his head pounding and his stomach lurching. He had a vague memory of his new blond friend and one of the third years egging him on as he attempted to drink another of the third years under the table. Needless to say he had probably consumed more alcohol in that one night than he had ever before, but at least he'd made it back to his dorm safely (probably thanks to Kou). Still, he vowed then and there; he didn't care if it was all supposedly 'part of the experience', he was never going to listen to his brother’s advice about partying at university again. He _had_ managed to make a couple of friends, so there was that at least he supposed.)

It wasn’t until their next meeting that Rei had actually learnt the RA's name; it was also the first time he had gotten a proper look at him.

Rei doesn't actually remember much of  _that_  meeting either, though this time it’s more because he’d been incredibly distracted by their RA.

 

Tachibana Makoto had introduced himself again as Rei, Kou and Nagisa had approached the university swim team's booth at the extracurricular fair, as well as the two others who had been the cause of Rei's demise on his first night on campus. As it had turned out, the one who had drunk him completely under the table was one of the team's fastest butterfly swimmers.

The one egging them all on relentlessly was the team's captain and  _Kou's brother_.

The sense of betrayal - _because_ _friends warn other friends about just how well their brother's friends hold their drink_ \- came later. At that point Rei had struggled to focus on the introductory spiel that Makoto and Rin were delivering to the small group gathered about the table.

Because really,  _how_  had Rei managed to miss this.

Rei hadn't been able to help the way his eyes lingered on the strong line of Makoto’s jaw or the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke. His hair looked ridiculously soft, and Rei was pretty sure he could get lost in those eyes. It was a good thing he'd been so distracted by all of that, because he's pretty sure his inattention would have gone from being excusable to outright shameless staring if he'd also taken note of Makoto's build.

Because  _wow_. Rei had always thought himself to have something of an eye for aesthetics before; Makoto had now given him a whole new frame of reference.

His internal musings had been cut short when Kou had jostled him as she reached forward to tug sullenly at her brother's jacket with a pout.

"Honestly, if you boys modelled your team jammers you'd recruit  _so many more_  people."

"I really did  _not_  need to hear that from my little sister," the captain had muttered, wrinkling his nose as his friend snickered behind him. 

Makoto had frowned a little, saying, "We  _are_ a competitive club though, so if that were a deal breaker..." Then he had grinned, a little mischief in his eye, and Rei had almost forgotten to breathe. "Besides, if all you want to do is ogle my shirtless team mates we've got pictures up on the board, see?"

Rei hadn’t been able to help looking up, and yeah, he's pretty sure it had broken his brain. And also? He was pretty sure that his own ogling hadn't been subtle  _at all_ by that point.

Rei  managed to keep to himself following that, too mortified to draw attention to himself. Nagisa had teased him  _endlessly_  after the incident with the swimming club.  Between starting his classes and his own practices with the athletics society Rei had been in and out of the dorm so much that he (thankfully?) had never gotten the chance to embarrass himself like that again.

An encounter became unavoidable, however, when the light in his room flickered out one evening as he, Nagisa, and Kou had been studying.

Rei had trudged to Makoto's room at the end of the corridor. He'd knocked, wondering if the third year would even be in (and kind of hoping that he  _wouldn't_ be) but he hadn't had to wait long for the door to swing open.

And really, Rei had thought to himself, this just wasn’t fair. Makoto had been wearing glasses and his hair had been ruffled as though he’d run his fingers through it. And his soft cotton t-shirt made him look particularly huggable.

Rei had tried to make a quick get away, but Makoto had invited him inside to fill out the appropriate forms to arrange for a new bulb to be fitted, and before Rei could leave Makoto had turned his smile at him and said, "Don't be a stranger! Even if you just want a chat or feel a little home sick, you know where to find me."

And that was when Rei's aesthetic appreciation might have turned into something of a crush.

 

It’s only gotten worse since then.

Part of Rei's daily routine on days that he doesn't have early lectures is to head over to the campus coffee shop for a pot of tea while he reviews and rewrites his hastily scribbled notes into a more legible format. He has a designated table that lines up nicely with a wall so that he can see the rest of the shop as he works.

He's two days into the routine before he realises that a certain RA also frequents the shop at around the same time.

Makoto will linger at the counter while the barista - his best friend, apparently - makes his coffee, and whines (adorably) to him about the early hour from a nearby stool for the next thirty minutes as the caffeine and sugar take their time kicking in.

Today it seems as though the whining has been cut short after only five minutes, which is an odd break in the routine. 

Rei thinks little of it; it's entirely possible that Makoto has just fallen asleep with his head resting on his bag (and his barista friend is probably too amused to do anything about it). And well, Rei’s notes aren't going to write themselves, even if he only has a little left to go.

He almost spills the last of his tea all over his hand (and his notebook) when someone clears their throat next to him. Rei glances up and almost chokes in surprise.

"...Makoto?"

"Hi Rei," Makoto says, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Um, I know you usually finish with studying around about now, but tend to run out of tea while you wait for class. I brought you another one?"

Sure enough, he's holding up a still-steaming mug smelling of the type of tea that he usually asks for. And Rei's sure he must be imagining it - must just be the way that the sunlight is filtering through the windows or something - but Makoto's cheeks  _seem_  to be tinged with the hint of a blush.

"Thank you," Rei says, still feeling a little bewildered. He does, thankfully, still manage a smile up at Makoto, and that seems to encourage him to keep going.

"Mind if I join you?"

So maybe he hasn't embarrassed himself as badly as he'd thought. As he invites Makoto to sit down, he ignores the small voice in the back of his mind that sounds suspiciously like Nagisa that tells him there's plenty more time for that.

Because it will probably be worth it, if he's being honest.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the quote: "A cup of tea would restore my normality." from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I don't know why it suddenly became all about tea, but eh. I'll use the excuse that I'm British and I'm Indian so it was probably inevitable. (Man I have put so many elements of my own experience of fresher's week into this =3=) Also characterisation might be a little shaky as I haven't written much Rei before ^^'
> 
> I've had a rough few weeks so even though I had every intention of staying up to date with my entries I've definitely been struggling! Thankfully the organisers of the event have said that late submissions are okay so you should be seeing more from me :D
> 
> Massive thank you to revolutionjack for editing/cheerleading/putting up with my whining <3 Any mistakes that are left are my own ^^


End file.
